May 5, 2013 … Darrell Issa of California charged on Sunday that the Obama administration … by the U.S. to put FBI investigators on the ground in Benghazi, Issa said. … Issa said that the reason for the possible cover–up is likely because …

The Waltham, Mass.-based company, which has 626 employees and 348 contract workers in three southeast Michigan locations, said auto supplier Johnson Controls had tentatively agreed to pay $125 million to purchase its automotive-related assets, including the operations in Livonia, Romulus and Ann Arbor.

Republicans immediately compared A123’s bankruptcy with the California solar panel manufacturer Solyndra, which filed for bankruptcy and liquidated last year, wiping out a $500-million loan guarantee from the U.S.

“A123’s bankruptcy is yet another failure for the president’s disastrous strategy of gambling away billions of taxpayer dollars on a strategy of government-led growth that simply does not work, ” said Andrea Saul, a spokeswoman for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Battered by recalls, high costs and sluggish consumer adoption of electric vehicles, A123 lost $1 billion since its founding in 2001, despite substantial government support.

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded a $249-million grant to A123 in August 2009 with promises of 5,900 jobs, mostly in Michigan. The Michigan Economic Development Corp. also awarded A123 more than $125 million in a variety of tax credits, grants and incentives in 2008 and 2009. The U.S. grant and Michigan incentives drew bipartisan support when they originally were approved.

“This is what’s possible in a clean-energy economy — these folks right here, doing extraordinary work,” President Barack Obama said at the White House Rose Garden after meeting A123 employees on April 30, 2010. “This is what happens when we place our bets on American workers and American businesses.”

A123 has received $132 million of its federal grant so far. The Energy Department said Johnson Controls could be eligible for the rest of the funding, but that has yet to be determined. The federal government’s investment does not have to be repaid, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

But Americans have not embraced electric vehicles that require regular recharging. In many instances, they are priced significantly higher than their gasoline-fueled counterparts. Even federal and state tax credits have not erased that price premium.

Then the lack of easy-to-find recharging stations has left many motorists worried about being left on a remote dark road without adequate power.

“It was an expansion of manufacturing plants in anticipation of customers who never arrived,” Litchfield Hills Research analyst Theodore O’Neill said.

A Johnson Controls spokeswoman declined to comment on whether the company would keep A123’s employees. Its acquisition of A123 must be approved by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in Delaware. A123’s battery plants remain in production for now.

Johnson Controls has a lithium-ion battery plant in Holland, Mich.

A123, which lost $269 million in the first eight months of the year, according to bankruptcy documents, turned down an interview request.

Democrats responded that during his 2002-06 term as governor of Massachusetts, Romney also provided support to emerging technology firms and some of the investments did not pay off. Meanwhile, the Department of Energy pointed out that A123’s investment had bipartisan support from Michigan lawmakers, including incumbent Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow and her Republican challenger, Pete Hoekstra.

“Johnson Controls’ investment in A123 will help ensure that the U.S. remains competitive in this growing global sector,” said former Democratic Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who promoted battery tax incentives as a way to boost the Michigan economy.

A123’s bankruptcy filing comes two months after Chinese auto parts maker Wanxiang Group agreed to invest up to $450 million to acquire up to 80% of A123. But that deal fell apart as A123 was set to burn through $400 million in cash over the next 12 months, O’Neill said.

Instead, Johnson Controls is cherry-picking the best assets out of A123, O’Neill said.

Johnson Controls also was awarded a $299-million Energy Department grant for its lithium-ion battery plant in Holland. The company’s spokeswoman declined to comment on whether that plant would be affected by the A123 deal.

Barclays analysts said in a research note that the deal would make Johnson Controls “the dominant surviving” U.S.-based lithium battery maker.

Many sophisticated A123 investors have lost millions, including global conglomerate General Electric, which had invested about $70 million by 2009.

Dan Leistikow, an Energy Department spokesman, said in a blog post that the government’s investment had produced meaningful battery innovation that would live on.

In its bankruptcy petition, A123 listed total assets of $459.8 million and liabilities of $376 million.

The company’s biggest customer is California start-up Fisker Automotive, which plans to keep the contract with Johnson Controls through at least the first quarter of 2013, spokesman Roger Ormisher said.

General Motors, which picked A123 as the battery supplier for the Chevrolet Spark electric vehicle, said it would accept Johnson Controls as its new battery provider.
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In, and during, the following Tesla Proposal, Tesla told Singapore, and a number of other countries, that the battery system was totally safe, even though they had filed patent documents and regulatory documents, now revealed in other articles, which stated otherwise: